Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Siemens Industry, Inc.

Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.

Siemens Corporation

Other

Siemens Corporate Research, Inc.

George Lo

Thomas Gruenewald

Justinian Rosca

Lingyun Wang

Hartmut Ludwig

Livio Dalloro

Yan Lu

Kurt Dirk Bettenhausen

Steffen Lamparter

Ronald Lange

Gerhard Zimmermann

Dong Wei

Florian Ersch

Peter Kob

Georg Muenzel

Juan L Aparicio Ojea

Mohammad Abdullah Al Faruque

Paul J Terricciano

Kun Ji

Stephan Grimm

Andreas Scholz

Christian Winkler

Ren-Yi Lo

Phani Ram Kumar Kuruganty

Ulrich Braun

Mina Azib

Hermann Friedrich

Bernhard Gaissmaier

J&uuml;rgen Schmoll

Barry R Contrael

Swen Elpelt

A system for providing access to locally stored process image data to other devices in an industrial production environment includes a plurality of controller devices and a process image backbone. Each respective controller device comprises the following: a volatile computer-readable storage medium comprising a process image area; a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium; a control program configured to provide operating instructions to a production unit; an input/output component configured to update the process image area during each scan cycle or upon the occurrence of one or more events with process image data items associated with the production unit; and a historian component configured to locally store the process image data items of the process image area as time series data in the non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. The process image backbone provides the plurality of controllers with uniform access to the process image data items of each programmable logic device.

Universal data access across devices

A system for autonomously providing functionality to a computerized control system includes a logic controller running a first computer application relating to an operations system and an application manager that receives requests for functionality from the first computer application. A remote marketplace client is in communication with the application manager and a remote marketplace that offers computer applications for providing a plurality of functionalities relating to the operations system. A computer application repository stores computer applications providing functionality of the operations system and responsive to receiving the request for functionality the application manager forwards the request to the remote marketplace client. The remote marketplace client queries the remote marketplace for the requested functionality and provides results of the query to the application manager. The application manager performs logic operations on the query results to identify an application to provide the requested functionality. The identified application is downloaded from the marketplace.

Apparatus and method for autonomously adding and removing of functionality in programmable logic controllers (PLCs)

A control layer automation device comprises a processor, one or more control layer applications, a database, a wireless interface, a device memory. Each control layer application is configured to perform a discrete set of automation functions. The database comprises a plurality of operator device identifiers and the wireless interface allows the one or more control layer applications to communicate with a plurality of operator devices via the plurality of operator device identifiers. The device memory comprises the one or more control layer applications. The control layer application manager is configured to manage execution of the one or more control layer applications on the processor.

Provisioning of control layer applications for use in industrial control environments

A method of operating an intelligent programmable logic controller (PLC) as part of a production process within an automation system includes the intelligent PLC receiving automation system data and a semantic context model comprising a plurality of ontologies providing formal specifications of conceptual entities associated with the automation system. The intelligent PLC creates one or more semantic annotations for the automation system data using the semantic context model. These semantic annotations are stored along with the automation system data in a non-volatile storage medium included in the intelligent PLC.

Rich contextualization of automation data

An intelligent workpiece system includes a workpiece comprising a portion of a product; and an embedded computing system attached to the workpiece. The embedded computing system is configured to communicate with machines in a manufacturing environment to facilitate assembly of the workpiece into the product at a plurality of assembling areas.

Intelligent workpieces

A method of operating an intelligent programmable logic controller over a plurality of scan cycles includes the intelligent programmable logic controller selecting one or more soft-sensors available in a control program corresponding to a production unit, each soft-sensor comprising a local parameter or variable used by the control program. The intelligent programmable logic controller determines updated soft-sensor values corresponding to the one or more soft-sensors during each scan cycle and stores those values during each scan cycle on a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium operably coupled to the intelligent programmable logic controller. Additionally, the intelligent programmable logic controller annotates the updated soft-sensor values with automation system context information to generate contextualized data.

Using soft-sensors in a programmable logic controller

A system for storing data in an industrial production environment includes a distributed database stored on a plurality of intelligent programmable logic controller devices. Each respective intelligent programmable logic controller device includes a volatile computer-readable storage medium containing a process image area; a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium; a control application; an input/output component; a historian component; and a distributed data management component. The control application is configured to provide operating instructions to a production unit. The input/output component is configured to update the process image area during each scan cycle with data associated with the production unit. The historian component is configured to store automation system data including the operating instructions and contents of the process image area on the non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. The distributed data management component is configured to facilitate distributed operations involving the automation system data by the plurality of intelligent programmable logic controller devices.

Automation and control distributed data management systems

A programmable logic controller comprises a processor, a PLC operating environment, a device memory, and an app container. The PLC operating environment is configured to execute a controller automation program providing a plurality of skill functions. The device memory comprises a plurality of apps which are configured to perform a discrete set of automation functions using the plurality of skill functions. The app container is logically separate from the PLC operating environment and configured to provide a runtime environment for the apps.

Extending the functionality of a programmable logic controller (PLC) with apps without changing the PLC programming

In order to reduce computation time and cost involved with detecting and diagnosing a fault in a system, simplified representations of components of the system are used to estimate valid intervals for state variables at the components. Generic failure rules are configured to compare the estimated valid intervals to related intervals for the same state variables, from either observations or propagations, for overlap. Failure output vectors are generated based on the comparison, and the failure output vectors are compared to diagnostic matrices to determine a source of the fault.

Simulation based fault diagnosis using extended heat flow models

A method of operating an intelligent programmable logic controller over a plurality of scan cycles includes creating, by the intelligent programmable logic controller, a process image area in a volatile computer-readable storage medium operably coupled to the intelligent programmable logic controller. The intelligent programmable logic controller then updates the process image area during each scan cycle with contents comprising data associated with a production unit. The contents of the process image area are stored by the intelligent programmable logic controller during each scan cycle on a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium operably coupled to the intelligent programmable logic controller. The intelligent programmable logic controller annotates the contents of the process image area with automation system context information to generate contextualized data.

Intelligent programmable logic controller

Real-time data and event management (RDEM) is implemented on a separate component in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA). To assist in upgrades or changes to the SCADA system without compromising RDEM, the RDEM function is performed on a separate card or physical component. When the computer running the SCADA system is upgraded, the RDEM on the separate card and corresponding persistence store is maintained.

SCADA system real-time data and event management on a PC card

A system and method are provided for the collaborative charging of electric vehicles. The collaborative charging manages the disbursement of power from a neighborhood transformer so as to increase the efficiency of electric vehicle charging at the residences without significantly altering the existing power distribution and residential infrastructures. Time-flexible loads are shed in order to efficiently allocate energy distribution without compromising the comfort or security of the user. The identities of individual residential power demands can be concealed to protect the user's privacy or made available to further optimize power allocation. The power allocation negotiation may be performed in a residential local demand management client separate from the residential charging station.

Network as automation platform for collaborative E-car charging at the residential premises

A method for managing power consumption within a facility includes receiving a request to reduce a total level of power consumption within the facility by a predetermined measure (S). A plurality of operating parameters indicative of how much power is being consumed by each of a plurality of facility systems is received (S). A corresponding cost associated with a marginal power reduction is determined for each of the plurality of facility systems using the received plurality of operating parameters (S). A power allocation to the facility system of the plurality of facility systems that is determined to have a lowest marginal cost of power reduction is incrementally reduced (S). The steps of determining a corresponding cost and incrementally reducing power are repeated until the total level of power consumption within the facility has been reduced by the predetermined measure.

Integrated demand response for energy utilization

Systems and methods are described that allow a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) to receive Demand Response (DR) data and process the data in a PLC Function Block (FB). Embodiments provide a PLC demand response FB that solicits DR data and a demand response load manager FB that compares the DR data with predetermined demand constraints corresponding to electrical equipment. The demand constraints provide energy consumption strategies for buildings and factories.

PLC function block for automated demand response integration

Systems and methods are described that provide a Heat Flow Model (HFM) graph modeling methodology. Embodiments automatically translate formal HVAC system descriptions from a Building Information Model (BIM) into HFM graphs, and compile the graphs into executable FDD systems. During an engineering phase, a user interface is used to enter parameters, conditions, and switches not found in the BIM. During a runtime phase, real-time data from an HVAC control system is input to the generated FDD system (HFM graph) for fault detection and diagnosis.

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Plainsboro, NJ, United States of America

George Lo